In the fabrication of ink jet devices, printhead arrays can be used to increase print speed.
A typical printhead array can include a plurality of subunits known as a die module or chip. Each die module can comprise hundreds or thousands of fluid emitters. An exemplary full-width thermal fluid jet fluid ejecting head has one or more die modules forming a full-width array extending across the fill width of the receiving medium on which the image is to be printed. In these fluid ejecting heads with multiple die modules, each die module includes its own ink supply manifold, or multiple die modules can share a common ink supply manifold.
It is known that high quality nozzles can be formed in a silicon die module, making silicon a preferred material for this purpose. However, when the separate die modules are cut from a single silicon slab, each die module can be very sharp at the cut edges. This problem is compounded by the spacing of the individual modules in an array on a printhead unit because of the need to maintain the nozzles during use. Wiping across sharp cut edges of the individual die modules within an array can damage the wiper blades. Accordingly, current designs for die module arrays are limited in order to avoid having a wiper structure traverse the sharp edges of the die modules within the array or alone.
Current solutions to the problem include the provision of a monolithic front face to the printhead, systems of intermediate partial width arrays, adding a one-piece front face cap, and complex maintenance systems. However, all of these proposed solutions either negate the effectiveness of the silicon nozzles or add excessive cost to the final device.
Thus, there is a need to overcome these and other problems of the prior art and to provide a method for forming an ink jet printhead subassembly and the resulting device, each of which provides a smooth and uniform silicon die array printhead surface for ease of maintenance. The smooth, coplanar printhead surface is maintainable without causing damage to known printhead wipers or other maintenance techniques.